With women now achieving great things in many fields, Fiona Woolf asks: Is there anything left to fight for?




As the first President to owe her seat on the Law Society Council to the Association of Women Solicitors, it would be remiss of me not to dedicate one of my articles to the women’s agenda.



Taking a cursory look at the issues, it may seem that women freely inhabit previously male-only dominions, from the boardroom to the political arena, the sporting field to the judicial robing room. So I ask: is there anything left to fight for? The answer, I would suggest, is a resounding ‘yes’.



Few would doubt that the capacity of women to achieve excellence has been proven, but the ability of women to rise to the top, or anywhere near it for that matter, remains far more problematic.



A timely reminder for those who say that rights for women no longer needs to be at the top of our agenda is the Law Society’s annual statistical report, which finds that whilst 40% of male solicitors have attained partner status, the figure drops dramatically to a mere 18% of women solicitors (see [2007] Gazette, 8 March, 1). It appears that women are falling off the career ladder long before they hit the glass ceiling.



The 2006 Women and Work Commission’s report showed that female lawyers are paid 21% less than their male counterparts. Women’s choice of work may explain some of the differences, often choosing financially less lucrative practices areas such as family, probate and charities. But we must not discount the discrimination that is still taking place. The fact is that women are being short-changed.



And it would seem that these issues are not confined to the law. Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published its findings of an analysis of the number of women in senior management positions across the FTSE 350 companies. It found a dramatic 40% fall in the number of women holding senior management positions. It suggested they may be exiting corporate life due to both the increasing cost of childcare and a new-found entrepreneurial streak in women.



There is further recent research, from the Equalities Review, commissioned by the Prime Minister, which looks at the issues for working women with children. It found that mothers of young children suffer the most discrimination in the jobs market. A mother with children under the age of 11 is 45% less likely to be in work than a man, and at the current rate of progress we would have to wait more than 75 years – until 2085 – to close this gap.



Whilst it is obvious we need to address the issues behind the statistics, the solution is not as clear. Firms need a flexible approach and flexible thinking if they want to keep their brightest and best, and this applies to men too. In recent months, some of the biggest law firms have set out more staff-friendly policies, from flexible-working initiatives designed to combat increasing attrition rates, to the creation of new roles outside those of the traditional career paths.



The aim is spot-on – encouraging women to remain in work. But will this achieve true empowerment of women and enable them to achieve top-level positions? There is a strong perception that opting for part-time or flexible working is tantamount to career suicide, and some firms which offer flexible working find that take-up is low.



Whilst it seems that there are no easy answers, the Law Society is determined to get in amongst the issues in its ‘Great Quality of Life Debate’.



This initiative is facilitating a better understanding of the issues around staff retention and job satisfaction, by exploring factors that help to meet the needs not just of the fee-earning staff but also of their supervisors and employers. We see a real need for a full and frank debate between employers and employees, associates and partners, in-house and private practice. The Law Society is well placed to bring groups together and help them to look at this.



The first stage of the project is now complete – a survey looking at best practice in professional staff retention across the professions of law, accountancy and investment banking. The second stage is now under way – the Great Debate – where we will share the results of the survey and establish whether the best practice really meets the various needs and expectations.



It may be that there are no simple answers, but at the very least we can share ideas, explode some myths and get a better understanding of what everyone really wants.



I wanted to end with the message that it is not all doom and gloom for women in the law. We have come along way in the 85 years since Carrie Morrison, the first woman solicitor, was admitted. And now women are entering the profession in greater numbers than ever before; last year, more than 60% solicitors joining the roll were women.



But there is much for the Association of Women Solicitors still to do and achieve for those it represents. It has a staggeringly large membership of 17,000 and provides strong leadership and encouragement, as well as great mentoring, a maternity helpline and popular returner course amongst other things. I hope that it will continue to pull the President’s sleeve to push the women’s agenda forward, until true equality and empowerment have been achieved.



Fiona Woolf is President of the Law Society